Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 5409, Benjamin Flint, Mass.

SERVICE
NUMBER
Mass.
Flint, Benjamin
S 5409.
CONTENTS
Carded.

15660 Massachusetts
Benjamin Flint
of Middlesex in the State of Mass who was a Private in the Company commanded by Captain Putnam of the Regt. commanded by Col. Brooks in the Massa line for 12 mos  1812  1813 2 nd Sergeant
Mch
Inscribed on the Roll of Massachusetts at the rate of 8 Dollars 77 Cents per annum, to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 3 rd day of July 1833 and sent to Boston Massachusetts
Arrears to the 4th of March 1833 $130 34 Semi-annual allowance ending 1 st Sep r , 33.89 $164.43
{ Revolutionary Claim, } { Act June 7, 1832. }
Recorded by W. Adonson Clerk, Book 2 Vol. 24 Page 25

21550
Benjamin Flint Map
Sept 2 M rs
Ph o 17-10 19 10
ah
50 1.17 1.10 52.77
J. Prescott Reading Map

BRIEF in the case of  Benjamin Flint  vs of Middlesex  in the State of Mass,  (Act 7th June, 1832.)
 1. Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge? Spencer  2. If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity?  3. How old is he? 86  4. State his service, as directed in the form annexed. 
   Period. Duration of Service. Rank. Names of General and Field Officers under whom he served.   Years, Months, Days.     April In 1775 enlisted 8 Private Gen. Putnam -   Octo 1776 " " 2 Sergeant Col. Belknap. Col. Brooks,   July 1778 " " 6 2 Private Col. Gage. Col. Jacobs   July 1780 " " 3 7 Col. Green. Col. Haws  
 5. In what battles was he engaged? None  6. Where did he reside when he entered the service? Middlesex Mass  7. Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the rolls? Traditionary documentary two living witnesses  8. Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect? 
X Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned.
George Fay
Examining Clerk.

Benjamin Glunt
of A. D. 1833 IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office this
day
[Faint mirrored handwriting from the reverse side of the page]

Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress, passed June 7, 1832.
STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS: COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, ss.
On this Seventh day of September A. D. 1832, personally appeared in open court, before the HONORABLE SAMUEL P. P. FAY, Judge of the Court of Probate for the County of Middlesex aforesaid, now sitting, Benjamin G. Flint , a resident of Reading , in the County of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, aged 86 years, who being first duly sworn according to law doth, on his oath, make the following Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832:
That he entered the service of the United States, under the following named officers, and served as herein stated: all
That he enlisted in the Winter of 1775 into the Company of Minutemen in said Reading commanded by Col. Balch and on the nineteenth day of April following when the British troops marched from Boston to Concord he was called out with his company on the alarm and marched to Lexington, and followed the enemy to Bunkerhill in Charlestown, and on that evening the company he was in went to Cambridge and having staid there a few days he enlisted into the same company for the term of eight months. The company aforementioned were stationed on Cambridge Common, where he did military service most of the time on guard, and was on guard when the battle on Bunkerhill took place, on the 17th of June 1775. During the term of his service he says he was employed in erecting forts at Lechmere's Point. He says that he served till the expiration of his time which was on the last of December and that he was there on duty from said 19th of April till the last of December when the eight months men were discharged and he among the rest and that he then went home.
He further says that in the fall of the year 1776 some time in October he thinks, he enlisted in said Reading for the term of two months in the Company commanded by Col. Belknap , and Col. Brooks's Regiment and went from Reading through Concord in the County of Middlesex and Hartford, and New Haven in the State of Connecticut and on to White Plains, and arrived there the day after the Battle in that place, where the Company were stationed and staid there some time and after words they
See Secretary certified copy of his deposition for the whole of his service at Cambridge See at White Plains See Benjamin G. Flint and his deposition for this

were moved to some other places in the neighboring county, and that he performed duty as a sergeant in said company till the time of his enlistment expired, when he was regularly discharged, and came home.
He further declares that he was born in said Reading on the twenty third day of March A.D. 1746. Has a record of his age on the Town Records, he thinks that he was living in Reading when called into service, that he enlisted as above stated, the names of some of his regular officers under whom he served, the Continental, and Militia Regiments, and the general circumstances of his service are as above stated. He says he never received any written discharge that he never had a commission, that Col Daniel Flint, Joshua Putnam, Edmund Parker, Joshua Purnell, George Flint Esqs all of said Reading can testify to his character for veracity and their belief of his services as a soldier of the Revolution. He further declares that there is no clergymen in Reading with whom he is acquainted and that the Reverend Reuben Emerson is the the nearest clergyman in the neighborhood.
He further declares that in the summer June or July A.D. 1778 he again enlisted for the term of six months as a private in Capt John Eddicks Company and Jacobs Regiment and went from Reading to Rhode Island and there performed Military service for that time or a little more as he thinks, and was then discharged. He also says that in July A.D. 1780 again enlisted and served in Capt William Green's Company and C. Haines Regiment for three months and went with said Company to Rhode Island and there served that time or more and was then discharged.
He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity, except the present, and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any State. Benjamin Flint
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid
J. P. P. Pay JUDGE OF PROBATE.
We, Reuben Emerson a clergyman, residing in South Reading aforesaid, and John Hart Esquire, a magistrate, residing in South Reading aforesaid, do hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Benjamin Flint who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration; that we believe him to be 86 years of age; that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution, and that we concur in that opinion.
John Hart Reuben Emerson.
Subscribed and sworn to before
J. P. P. Pay Probate.

And the said Court hereby declares its opinion, after the investigation of the matter, and after putting the interrogatories prescribed by the War Department, that the abovenamed applicant was a Revolutionary Soldier, and served as he states. And the Court further certifies that Reuben Emerson who has signed the preceding Certificate, is a Clergyman resident in South Reading and that the said John Mark who has also signed the same is a Magistrate resident at South Reading and is a credible person and that their statement is entitled to credit.
J. O. O'Neil  John Mark
I, ISAAC FISKE, Register of the Court of Probate for the County of Middlesex aforesaid, do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application of Benjamin Pratt for a pension.
I also certify that Jeremiah Prescott whose own proper signature is set to the Depositions of Ebenezer Weston , Ebenezer Herrick & Benjamin Pratt , hereto annexed is a justice of the Peace within said county.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and seal of office this 10th day of September A. D. 1832.
Isaac Fiske

Reuben
5409 INVALID.
On
File No. 5409
Benjamin Gilint
Sergt. & Priv. Knapp's Co.
Act: June 14 1832
Index: Vol. M , Page 127
[Arrangement of 1870.]

21558 Benjamin F. Hunt
containing officer's report accompanied the labels.
that must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office, must certify to the credibility of the witnesses and the official character and signature of the magistrates, the company, and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well as the claimants entering the service, and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well as the

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of Benjamin Flint which require further proof or explanation.
I. Does the declaration show where the applicant resides? yy II. Did the declarant make the declaration in the county where he resides? yy III. If the applicant did not make the declaration in the county where he resides, is there any reason assigned for his not doing so? IV. Has the declarant mentioned the period or periods of the war when he served? yy V. * Has he mentioned with precision the length of his service, and the different grades in which he served, in language so definite as to enable the department to determine to what amount of pension he is entitled? yy VI. Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations? yy VII. Has he made a relinquishment of every claim to any other pension than the one under the Act of June 7, 1832? yy VIII. Has the Court given their opinion? yy IX. Has the Clerk given his certificate? yy X. Is the Clerk's seal affixed? And if so, has it a device or inscription by which it can be distinguished from any other seal? yy

XI. Has the applicant obtained the evidence of a clergyman and another respectable citizen as to their belief respecting his age and the general belief in his neighborhood relative to his revolutionary service? yy
XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it? yy
XIII. If the applicant has no documentary evidence, and has not obtained the testimony of at least one living witness, has he stated in his declaration that such proof cannot be had?
XIV. †If the applicant's name is not found on the rolls of military service, has he produced a witness or witnesses as to his service?
If he has produced direct proof as to service, has the magistrate who administered the oath, certified to the credibility of the witness or witnesses? yy
Has the proper officer certified to the official character and signature of the magistrate as the regulations direct? yy
XV. Does it appear from any of the papers that the witness was in such a situation, or of such an age, as to have a personal knowledge of the applicant's service? yy
XVI. †Are the papers authenticated as the regulations direct? yy
XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And, if not, which of them is not so answered? yy
 EXPLANATORY NOTES.
* QUERE V. In a case where the applicant cannot, by reason of the loss of memory, state precisely how long he served, he should amend his declaration by making an affidavit in the following words:
"Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace, &c. A. B. who, being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that, by reason of old age, and the consequent loss of memory, he cannot swear positively as to the precise length of his service, but according to the best of his recollection he served not less than the periods mentioned below, and in the following grades; For _____ year _____ months, and _____ days, I served as a _____ For _____ months and _____ days, I served as a _____; and for such service I claim a pension."

It is important in all cases to determine with precision the period for which each applicant served, and the particular rank he held, as the law directs the pension to be paid according to the grade of the pensioner and the length of his service. The use of the phrase about three or four months is too indefinite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable. Some persons who apply for pensions merely state they served two years in the militia, &c. without specifying the tours; the names of the officers, and other particulars respecting their service. This form of a declaration is highly objectionable. It must in every case be clearly shewn under what officers the applicant served; the duration of each term of engagement; the particular place or places where the service was performed; that the applicant served with an embodied corps called into service by competent authority; that he was either in the field or in garrison; and for the time during which the service was performed, he was not employed in any civil pursuit.
†QUERE XIV. Proof of Service.
In a case where the name of the applicant is not found on the records of the Department, he must prove his service by two credible witnesses, who are required to set forth in their affidavits the time of the claimants entering the service, and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well as the regiment, company, and line to which he belonged. The magistrate who may administer the oaths must certify to the credibility of the witnesses, and the official character and signature of the magistrate must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office.
†QUERE XVI. Mode of authenticating papers.
In every instance where the certificate of the certifying officer who authenticates the papers is not written on the same sheet of paper which contains the affidavit, or other paper authenticated, the certificate must be attached thereto by a piece of tape or narrow ribbon, the ends of which must pass under the seal of office of the certifying officer, so as to prevent any paper from being improperly attached to the certificate.
¶ In every case where the clerk of the court, or other certifying officer, has no public seal of office, the certificate of a member of congress, proving the official character and signature of the certifying officer, should accompany the papers.

Benjamin Hall and Benjamin Herrick's Depo.
for Ben Herrick's pension
Benjamin Hall:
215 50

I Ebenezer Buxton of Reading in the County of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts do depose and say, that I was a minute man in the company commanded by Capt. John Batchelder in said Reading in Col. Bridges Regiment and on the 19 th of April 1775 was called out on alarm and went to Lexington and there pursued the British Troops to Concord in Concord Town, Our Company was then marched and stationed in Concord where I therein performed duty until I am listed in the list of April or for part of May for eight months in the Company aforesaid and continued to serve from said 19 th day of April 1775 to the first day of January 1776. a time term of time between eight and nine months when I was discharged. During all which time I was well acquainted with Benjamin Skutt of the same Reading who went in said Company with me to Lexington on said 19 th day of April and served with me from that time 1775 to the first of January A.D. 1776.
Sep r 1 st A.D. 1832
Ebenezer Buxton
State of Massachusetts
County of Middlesex ss.
On this 8 th day of September A.D. 1832 personally appeared the above-named Ebenezer Buxton and made oath that the facts stated in the foregoing deposition by him subscribed were true Before me Joshua Prescott Jr. Notary and I further certify that said Ebenezer Buxton is a very credible witness and his testimony worthy of full credit Before me Joshua Prescott Jr. Notary

Chas. Buxton Depo. for Benj'n Smith

I Ebenezer Herrick formerly resident in Reading in the County of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts but now in Mark- borough in the County of Caledonia and State of New Hampshire, and Benjamin Pratt of said Reading do depose and say That we enlisted in said Reading in Sep- tember in 1876, as a private in the Company commanded by Capt. Bel- knapp of Leominster and in Col. Brooks Regiment, and went in said Com- pany to White Plains N.Y. where we arrived the day after the battle and there was stationed and there performed service during the term of two months, and was then discharged. During which term we were acquainted with Benja- min Pratt of said Reading who en- listed into the same Company and did military duty as a sergeant in said Company with us during the said term and was dismissed with the rest of the Company.
August, 27. 1882.
Benja Pratt
Ebenezer Herrick.
State of Massachusetts County of Middlesex ss
On this twenty seventh day of August A.D. 1882

Personally appeared the above named Benjamin Pratt and Ebenezer Herrick and made oath that the facts in the foregoing Deposition by them subscribed were true before me Joshua Prescott
and I further certify that said Ebenezer Herrick and Benjamin Pratt are very credible wit- nesses. Before me Joshua Prescott Jr. Pres.

B Flint

Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Secretary's Office, November 21 1832.
I hereby Certify, That, from an examination of the Books and Documents, relating to Military Services in the War of the Revolution, which remain in this Department, it appears that Benjamin Flint has served under the following Officers
   Captains Colonels Term of Service Service Claimed M o days On Rolls Found M o days Rolls not found M o days Where stationed or Enlisted for   When Enlisted Rolls Ended     Jn s Bacheller Bridge April 24 th 75 Aug st 8 11 3 14 4 23 Cambridge   Jn s Flint D a Green 1775 No date Dec 19. " " 4 "   Ben i Edgell Jacobs 1778 July 1 st Dec r 31. 6 " 6 3 Rhode Island   Will m Green C. Hows. 1780 July 30. Nov r 1. 3 " 3 7 Ditto.   Belknap Brook 1776 in the fall 2 " 2 0 White Plains   19 11 12 28 8 23  
Amount of whole time of Service on Rolls in Twelve months twenty eight Days
Edward D Bangs, Secy